


Even Children Get Older

by thorbiased



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Not exactly canon compiliant, Post-Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Pregnancy, two dorks in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 23:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16544249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thorbiased/pseuds/thorbiased
Summary: Peter sat on a maroon cliff, swinging his legs over the side of the cavern, staring wistfully out at the blue and green sunset. His earbuds were fit snuggly in his ears, and “Hooked on a Feeling” pumped through the small speakers. He idly tapped out the rhythm on his thigh, trying to focus on the action instead of his inner turmoil. Two days before, they’d discovered that Gamora was pregnant. Peter had been—was still—ecstatic, but doubt had started to creep up on him. Ever since the fiasco with Ego, he’d had trouble seeing himself as a father. He’d always wanted kids, even back when he was more promiscuous, but now he wasn’t so sure.





	Even Children Get Older

Peter sat on a maroon cliff, swinging his legs over the side of the cavern, staring wistfully out at the blue and green sunset. His earbuds were fit snuggly in his ears, and “Hooked on a Feeling” pumped through the small speakers. He idly tapped out the rhythm on his thigh, trying to focus on the action instead of his inner turmoil. Two days before, they’d discovered that Gamora was pregnant. Peter had been—was still—ecstatic, but doubt had started to creep up on him. Ever since the fiasco with Ego, he’d had trouble seeing himself as a father. He’d always wanted kids, even back when he was more promiscuous, but now he wasn’t so sure. 

Peter could still see all his half siblings, their bones dumped in an abandoned cave, forsaken and unloved. He felt each and every one of them die the moment Ego connected him with the Light. He just didn’t want to end up like his dad. 

Peter’s fingers grappled around on the ground beside him, searching for a rock big enough to toss. They locked around one of reasonable size, then he tossed it up in the air. When it landed in his palm again, he slung it into the abyss. He heard the satisfying thunk of it hitting the ground and sighed. 

There wasn’t anything he could do to stop what was about to happen. Gamora was already pregnant. She was already excited. He was excited. But, he just wasn’t going to be a good father and he wasn’t ready to screw up his kid’s life. 

Gamora was going to be the best mom, though. That thought kept him going. The moment she’d passed that positive test over, her hand clamped over her eyes with a nervous smile on her lips, Peter saw her as a mother. He could see her with a swollen belly, complaining that she couldn’t fight like this. He saw her with a bundle in her arms. He saw her patching up skinned knees and soothing nightmares and giving baths. And he couldn’t wait for it to all be real. 

But he was going to be a terrible father. 

Of course, Peter didn’t think he’d murder his kid, but he didn’t know how to parent. His mom was amazing, but his kid would already have a mom in Gamora. Yondu was the closest thing he had to a father, but he was a bit (okay, a lot) rough around the edges. 

How was he supposed to raise a kid if he’d never really gotten to be one in the first place? It was one thing to screw up his own life, but he couldn’t be responsible for screwing up his own child’s life. Every decision he made would affect his child, good or bad. Peter had never been exceptional at making good decisions. 

“Are you brooding?” 

Peter jumped around to face his wife, who towered over him with a semi-annoyed hand planted on her hip. Her lips were flattened in a line, which was normally a good indicator that Peter had done something less-than-reasonable. 

He flashed her a very fake and very unconvincing grin. “Hey, babe. I’m not brooding.”

“What are you listening to?” she asked instead of addressing his obvious lie. She slowly sat down beside him, crossing her legs as she did. 

Peter hadn’t really noticed the song change, so he had to pause and listen. It was “Father and Son”, how freaking fitting. He readjusted his earbuds so that could share, brushed Gamora’s hair out of the way, and placed one bud in her ear. 

Gamora hummed and leaned her head on his shoulder. His arm snaked around behind her and rested on her other shoulder. “I like this one.”

“It’s good,” Peter agreed. 

They were silent for a moment, just absorbing the moment and each other. But Gamora had come out for a reason, and she hadn’t forgotten it. 

“Why are you out here alone?” she murmured, threading her fingers in his. Her thumb brushed against his knuckles. It sometimes amazed him how gentle she could be, given how her childhood had gone. 

“It’s nothing,” he lied, entirely unconvincing. Gamora didn’t say anything, but guilt bit at Peter’s heart. “Ugh, fine, stop twisting my arm.”

“I didn’t...”

“Shh, Gamora,” Peter said, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. “It’s the baby.”

Gamora shot up, her eyes wide and hurt. “You’re not excited?” she asked, her voice wavered. 

“I’m so excited,” he said all in a rush. How could he convey it to her? He cupped her cheek in his hand, and she shivered. “I am, but...I’m not gonna be a good dad. I’m gonna screw up our kid’s life.”

Gamora paused, her lips parted slightly. Peter’s heart was pounding. He seriously considered just rolling off the side of that cliff. “Baby,” she whispered, scooting closer to him, “Where is this coming from?”

Peter rested his forehead on her shoulder. His cheeks flushed red. “My whole life,” he mumbled, “Ego was...crap. I don’t want to talk about that. Yondu was the closest thing I had to a real dad, but...he threatened to eat me everyday of my life.”

“You are going to be the absolute best dad in the galaxy,” Gamora said emphatically. “Peter Jason Quill is going to be the best father in the galaxy. I need you to repeat that.”

“Gamora,” Peter whined, peering up at her like a sad puppy dog. 

“Repeat it,” Gamora gritted out, tightening her grip on his shoulder. 

“Peter Jason Quill is going to be...the best father in the galaxy.”

“Good boy,” Gamora said, patting his shoulder gently. “Is anyone’s going to be a bad parent, it’s me.”

Peter recoiled, his mouth agape. “I’m sorry, what?” 

“You heard me,” she said, picking absentmindedly at the hem of her shirt. “How could I be a good parent...with everything I’ve done?”

“Everything that was done to you,” Peter corrected gently. He pulled her closer into his lap, and she wrapped her legs around his middle. “Geez, you’re like a koala bear.”

“A what?” 

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head, “Anyway, you are the kindest, most compassionate, fiercest woman I’ve ever met. And I’ve met a lot of women.”

“Peter.”

“Sorry. Point is, you’re going to be an amazing mom,” Peter said, rubbing circles onto her back. 

“You’re going to be an amazing dad.”

“If you say so, babe.”

Gamora leaned back with a smirk. She ran her fingers through Peter’s curls, eliciting a little sigh from her husband. He slumped forward slightly, utterly content. “I do say so, baby,” she murmured, “We’re not going to be perfect. Obviously. But, we’re going to try. And that’s all that matters.”

Peter ran his hand up from the small of Gamora’s back to her belly, resting his palm against the subtle curve of her stomach. “I love you.”

Gamers pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead, letting her eyes drift shut. “I love you too.” 

Peter leaned down and flattened his lips against Gamora’s abdomen. “And I love you, too, baby Quill. I’m sorry I’m gonna suck as a dad.”

Gamora flicked the back of Peter’s head. 

Peter laughed. “But you’re going to be so loved, and you’re gonna have awesome music taste. And a weird raccoon uncle and sweet bug aunt and a tree brother. So it’s gonna be weird. But awesome, I swear. Don’t get freaked out.”

Gamora threw her head back, chuckling at Peter’s antics. “Tell her about her cyborg aunt.”

“Oh, yeah. Creepy cyborg aunt is great. She’ll probably pretend that she doesn’t like you or that she thinks you’re gross, but she’ll love you. Speakin’ from personal experience on that one.”

“She really does like you,” Gamora said.

“Yeah, I know. I’m used to tough love,” Peter shrugged, “Okay, now you talk to the baby.”

Gamora looked down at her belly where Peter’s ring laden fingers were sitting. She sighed happily. “Okay, hi baby,” she whispered, “I love you. Peter kind of covered it all. You’re going to love your invisible uncle Drax. We’ll take you star gazing, and we’ll sing to you.”

“Oh, we should sing now,” he exclaimed, grabbing Gamora’s hands in his. He swung them together. “What’s playing now? Oh, yeah. This is a good one. A lullaby.” 

Gamora hummed along to the melody. “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac. One of her favorites. “I took my love and I took it down,” she sang softly. 

Peter’s grin widened like it always did when Gamora sang. It was a rare sound, but it was his absolute favorite one. He joined in, and they sang in unison, “I climbed a mountain, and I turned around.”

Their gazes turned from each other to the mountains surrounding them. Gamora laid her head on Peter’s shoulder. “I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills, ‘til the landslide brought it down.”

Their voices petered out as the song faded to silence, and Gamora yawned from her spot in Peter’s lap. He laughed and scooted away from the edge of the cliff before picking her up in his arms. “Come on, sleepy head.”

“I love you so much, Peter Quill.”

His green eyes sparkled when he spoke, “I love you more.”


End file.
